Theory's Failure: Malthusian Population Theory and the Projected Demise of Slavery.

The article discusses how the Malthusian population theory was applied to the national debate over the issue of limiting slavery prior to the U.S. Civil War. The projected impact the eventual demise of slavery would have on the public welfare is described as a volatile issue. It is argued that a simplified version of the theory posed by Thomas Malthus, which claimed natural population growth outstripped the food supply and led to war, famine, and plague, helped lead the South to secession. The views of abolitionists, free traders, protectionists, and proslavery advocates on the potential economic results of emancipation are compared on topics such as wages, labor supply, Western expansion, and population growth.